This project is to utilize farming wastes to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and promote sustainable agriculture practice. Wastes like corn cobs and stalks, cocoa husks, paddy straws are fermented to be cattle feed while the dung of the cattle is for cooking fuels, lighting and fertilizer.

Most farmers in developing countries are smallholders who do not have enough access to improve their livelihoods due to lack of resources. Meanwhile, at the farm level, land productivity and quality is decreasing due to over application of chemicals while their current farming practices produce a big deal of farming wastes leading not only to environmental problems but also social and health problems thus making smallholder farming not bankable.

This project will contribute to a Nutrients for all by utilizing something considered problems. Farming wastes are formulated to be cattle feed since feed covers 70% of cow breeding/fattening costs therefore more cows raised with less resources required. When processed to be fertilizers through biogas, Cow dung will generate extra income, improve farming productivity about 15 – 20%, reduce at least half cost for chemicals, and promote healthy, natural ecosystems. Furthermore, biogas is able to reduce cooking fuel cost at least 80% and lighting cost up to 30%. This model will also make smallholder farming more bankable since reducing potential for non performing loan.

To date, the project has constructed 63 biogas digesters. Furthermore, 8 have generated income from their compost and foliar fertilizer business. More than 78 households have reduced application of chemical fertilizer (some even have farmed without chemical fertilizer) and have benefited harvest increase 15-20%. 78 households have enjoyed cooking fuel cost saving at least 80% and 10 households have saved electricity cost up to 30%. Furthermore, 57 people have been trained for fermented cow feed (silage). 4 farmer groups have been facilitated cow agribusiness credit amounting about US$ 100,000 from bank. Another impact of the project is promoting confinement of cows (not free grazing) which contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases emission. Less pollution and better sanitation are also reported by some biogas users while some others reported to stop cutting trees for cooking fuel.